Infusion device
A user-friendly infusion device is provided, and more particularly, a infusion device including a user interface capable of providing necessary alarms to a user (a healthcare worker) when problems occur when setting a dose and a infusion flow rate before a infusion. The infusion device includes: a setting unit for setting a dose and a infusion flow rate, or the like; and a display unit for displaying the dose and the infusion flow rate, or the like, and is characterized in that when the infusion flow rate (mL/h) is input in the setting unit, the flow rate is increased or decreased step by step in synchronization with a buzzer sound for each press of a 100-digit key. Also, the infusion device includes: a setting unit for setting a dose and a infusion flow rate, or the like; and a display unit for displaying the dose and the infusion flow rate, or the like, and is characterized in that lengths thresholds of detected air is classified into two predetermined stages so that either one can be selected.
Latest TERUMO KABUSHIKI KAISHA Patents:
The present invention relates to a infusion device such as a syringe pump or a infusion pump for administering a drug to a patient, and more particularly to a infusion pump which presses a infusion tube to infuse a liquid drug.
BACKGROUND ARTFor infusions conducted in medical institutions or medical care at home, problems sometimes occur in setting a infusion flow rate and a dose to be infused. Consequentially, safer infusion devices are required. In conventional infusion devices, an operation panel is used as an user interface that includes a setting input key for setting a flow rate, a volume to be infused or various warnings and a display unit for displaying them (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-154943 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-300667).
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTIONConventional devices, however, have problems setting an input suitable for a field of use cannot be performed (for example, setting the input for many flow rates). The present invention is achieved to solve the conventional problems, and has an object to provide a infusion device that is easily usable by use with high safety, and more particularly, a infusion device including a user interface capable of providing a necessary alarm to a user (a healthcase worker) to eliminate the problems in setting a dose and flow rate before a infusion and allowing the user to set the alarm condition.
The above described object is achieved by a infusion device including: a setting unit for setting a dose and a infusion flow rate, or the like; and a display unit for displaying the dose and the infusion flow rate, or the like, wherein when the infusion flow rate (mL/h) is input via the setting unit, the flow rate is increased or decreased step by step followed by a buzzer sound for each press of an input key. The above described object is also achieved by a infusion device including: a setting unit to set a dose and a infusion flow rate, or the like; and a display unit to display the dose and the infusion flow rate, or the like, wherein thresholds of the lengths of detected air is classified into two predetermined stages so that either thereof can be selected. The above described object is also achieved by a infusion device including in a door: a setting unit to set a dose and a infusion flow rate, or the like; and a display unit to display the dose and the infusion flow rate, or the like, wherein setting an input in the setting unit is prevented while the door is kept opened and/or during the start of a infusion (during a infusion operation).
As described above, according to the present invention, a infusion device is provided that allows a user to set infusion conditions safely and reliably, and also the easy setup or adjustment or selection of a necessary alarm (warning) condition via a user interface including an operation panel. Further, detailed organization of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the best implementation of the invention and its accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
- 1 infusion device
- 2 infusion tube
- 4 door
- 6 operation indicator
- 8 the drip number setting switch
- 9 volume to be infused/volume infused setting switch
- 11 flow rate setting switch
- 13 check timing display unit
Now, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The infusion device 1 has securing fittings 91 on its a rear surface, into which a securing knob 92 is screwed so as to be secured to the infusion pole 90 as shown in
Thus, the device is designed so that a user (an operator such as a healthcare worker, for example, a doctor or a nurse) presses each switch with his/her thumb with the remaining fingers resting on back sides of the right and left protrusions 3a for an easy pressing of the various switches in order to improve usability when setting (mounting) the infusion tube 2 (see
Two upper and lower grooves 3m used to laterally hold the infusion tube 2 at the center of the body base 3 as shown are integrally molded, and the user vertically sets the infusion tube 2 in the grooves 3m. A pump mechanism 100 is fixed in the middle of the grooves by four screws 110 attachable and detachable using a tool. The pump mechanism 100 includes ten fingers 10-n individually driven by cam drive means included in the body base 3. Each of the fingers 10-n is injection molded out of thermoplastic resin such as a polyacetal resistant to chemicals. In the lower unit of the body base 3, jaws 3k protruding to the front in the sheet surface are integrally molded so as to surround the groove 3m, and if a lower side surface of a below described door facing cover 12 is placed on the jaws 3k when the door 4 including the door facing cover 12 is closed to apply any external force, the jaws 3k receives the external force to prevent the external force from being applied to the door facing cover 12 and the door 4 in order to prevent breakage. A hook 59 is secured to the right side substantially in the middle of the body base 3, and a lock unit of a door lock lever 7 rotatably provided in the door 4 is locked to the hook 59 to maintain the door 4 secured to the body base 3. A door seal rubber 66 made of an elastomer is provided in the door 4 at a unit facing the most upstream side of the groove 3m, and the door seal rubber 66 is deformed so as to form a joining seal surface with a shown shaping unit 3j of the body base 3 when the door 4 is closed, thereby preventing a liquid drug or the like from entering the infusion device 1.
A occlusion sensor 62 is provided below the pump mechanism 100, and holds the infusion tube 2 in front and back directions together with a occlusion pressure plate 69 provided in the door 4 to face the occlusion sensor 62. The occlusion sensor 62 includes a permanent magnet and a pickup sensor to detect the moving distance of the permanent magnet in an analog manner, and is adapted to detect the position of the permanent magnet moved according to internal pressure changes depending on occlusion states of the infusion tube 2. For this purpose, it is necessary that the occlusion pressure plate 69 does not regulate internal pressure changes of the infusion tube 2 in any directions, and thus a shown disk is held to be freely movable by a leaf (an elastic member). When a occlusion threshold is detected by the occlusion sensor 62, the adjustment means (selection means) 51 (see
On the other hand, the pump mechanism 100 and the body base 3 are substantially colored in gray, while groove parts 94 and 95 secured to upper and lower units of the pump mechanism 100 are red or orange, so that the user sets the infusion tube 2 in the grooves to correctly hold the infusion tube 2 in a predetermined position of the pump mechanism 100. In
The body facing cover 12 specially injection molded of thermoplastic synthetic resin is provided so as to prevent surface sink or a residue of resin flow, and is detachable so as to cover four corners of the body base 3 in the infusion device 1. Thus, the body facing cover 12 is detached to be easily accessible to all check spots and parts replacement spots in the infusion device 1, thereby facilitating assembly and also maintenance and parts replacement. A pressure plate 70 is provided on a rear surface of the door 4 as described later. A flexible cable 63 is provided with part thereof being exposed as shown between the upper and lower hinges 65 and 65 for supplying power and transmitting electric signals so that the supply of power and the transmission of electric signals to the door side sensor 31 can be performed besides the operation switch panel (see
Next,
The middle unit of the infusion tube 2 is temporarily set as shown, and then the door 4 is closed and locked through lever 7 to start a infusion. The display units of the drip number, a volume to be infused (a dose to be infused)/volume infused, and a flow rate (a infusion flow rate) display numeral by a so-called seven segments numerical. The operation switch panel 1000 is provided in the door 4. The display units 8, 23 and 32 for displaying the drip number, the volume to be infused/volume infused, and the flow rate are laid out in the operation switch panel 1000 so as to be easily viewable. The display units are color-coded so that the display unit 32 of the flow rate is an orange LED, the display unit 23 of the volume to be infused/volume infused is a green LED, and the display unit 32 of the flow rate is displayed to be larger than the display unit 23 of the volume to be infused/volume infused. The key panel on which the operation switches are placed and the display units 8, 23 and 32 of the drip number, the volume to be infused/volume infused, and the flow rate are made of a transparent resin film having a back surface on which predetermined items are printed and embossed to protrude forward in a circular shape, and bonded to cover unshown included switch keys, thereby preventing the liquid drug or the like from entering the switch keys.
The above described switch keys are mounted on a common board, and LEDs of the display units 8, 21, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 32 emit light so that the displays are easily viewable even when it is dark. The switch keys, the display units 8, 21, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 32, and lamps are connected to a below described control unit via the flexible cable 63, and power is supplied. Electric signals of control signals and drive signals are transmitted from the cable to allow the supply of power and the transmission of the electric signals of the control signals and the drive signals to perform without trouble the opening and closing operations of the door 4 including the door facing cover 12. A board provided in the door 4 handles so-called TTL level electric signals only.
Next, the function of each switch will be described. A power switch 15 provided in a lower left corner in the drawing is used for turning on/off a main power supply. It turns on the power supply if being pressed for a predetermined amount of seconds (about 2 seconds) and it turns off the power supply if being pressed again for a predetermined amount of seconds (about 3 seconds or more), which prevents the power supply from being accidentally turned on/off. A battery lamp 16 on the right of the power switch 15 includes a green light emitting diode to indicate the three stages as shown. It also lights up when an AC power supply or a dedicated DC power supply is connected irrespective of the on/off state of the power supply to indicate that a battery is being charged. Further, the battery lamp 16 indicates the amount of charge during the charging and the remaining amount during use of the built-in battery with the LED. On the left of the battery lamp 16, an AC/DC lamp 17 lights up only when a commercial power supply or a DC power supply is used and the power supply is on. A stop and silence switch 18 that is pressed during the infusion to cause a built-in buzzer to sound in order to stop the infusion is provided above the AC/DC lamp 17. The stop and silence switch 18 can be pressed while the warning sound (the buzzer) is emitted to silence the sound. Also, when in a state of being ready for the infusion the stop and silence switch 18 is continuously pressed for predetermined seconds (about 2 seconds), a mode is changed to standby mode. By changing to standby mode, an alarm state for a caution against forgetting to start is released. This can prevent the alarm (the buzzer) from being generated during the time between completion of the puncture of a needle into a patient and the start of the infusion, for example, in an operating room. In a condition where the alarm state is not released, the alarm (the buzzer sound) is generated after predetermined minutes (about 20 minutes) to urge the user to start the infusion. On the left of the stop and silence switch 18, a stop display lamp 21 having a diode that emits an orange light blinking during a stop is provided in association with the stop and silence switch 18 so as to be surrounded by the same frame. On the right of the stop and silence switch 18, a start switch 19 is provided. The start switch 19 is pressed to cause a built-in buzzer to sound to start the infusion. The green light emitting diode of the start display lamp 20 blinks to indicate that the operation is being performed. An operation indicator 6 (see
A display unit 1100 is provided above the switches, six up-down switches 22, all are provided as shown, so as to correspond to a 3-digit display unit of the flow rate display unit (a infusion flow rate display unit) 32. Up and down buttons 22a, 22b, and 22c of the up-down switch 22 corresponding to the number of digits (hundreds, tens, ones) are pressed in a stop state to allow setting the input of the flow rate (the infusion flow rate) (mL/h) and the volume to be infused (the dose to be infused) (mL) within a range of 1.0 to 500 mL/h and 1 to 9999 mL, respectively. On the left of the flow rate display unit 32, the flow rate setting means (the flow rate setting switch) 11 that is pressed to enter the setting mode is provided. In setting the flow rate (mL/h), the up and down buttons 22a are continuously pressed to increase and decrease the value hundreds by hundreds, and a buzzer sounds synchronized with the increase and decrease of the value at each press. When setting the flow rate (mL/h), first, the flow rate setting means (the flow rate setting switch) 11 is pressed to confirm the blinking state, then the value is input by the up-down switch 22 to confirm that the value is a predetermined value, and the flow rate setting means (the flow rate setting switch) 11 is pressed again to set the input. Above the flow rate display unit 32, an volume infused and volume to be infused display unit 23 surrounded by a printed separate frame is provided. A set range for the volume to be infused varies between 1 to 9999 mL by pressing the up and down buttons 22a, 22b, and 22c corresponding to the number of digits of the up-down switch 22. This set range is programmed to be increased by 1 mL increments or set freely, and adapted to store the set value in a storing unit 71 (see
Above the volume infused and volume to be infused display unit 23, infusion setting means (the drip number setting means) 8 is provided to set the drip number of infusion using a drip chamber and confirm the setting afterwards. On its right, a completion display unit 24 displays the characters “completed” blinking. Below the completion display unit 24, a timing validation display unit 13 is provided to send either a notification regarding the approach of a regular check timing or a notification regarding a regular check by illuminating either a pictographic character of a driver from a back surface or an LED display. When the display unit 13 is made of LED, the display colors may be changed. For instance, the display is orange for a predetermined period of days, i.e., a few days before the regular check timing (date), and the display turns red after the regular check date. Setting a time period before the transfusion system lights up can be done at configuration. For example, continuously pressing the volume to be infused setting means (the volume to be infused setting switch) 9 while pressing the flow rate setting means (the flow rate setting switch) 11 enables a user to set a time using the up switch 22b of the up-down switch 22 so that the display on the flow rate display unit 32 is successively changed from 0 (no setting) to 1 (month), 2 (months), . . . 12 (months). When setting, timing validation may be controlled by a host computer using an internal communication means such as a LAN connection via an external communication unit 56.
Further, an occlusion display unit 26 displaying the blinking characters “occlusion” when an occlusion in the infusion tube 2 is detected by the occlusion sensor 62, urges a user to disable the infusion. A door opening display unit 27 is provided to display the blinking characters “door” when the door is not closed incompletely with respect to the body base 3 and an open state is detected by the door switch. An air-in display unit 28 is provided to display the blinking characters “air-in” when the air-in sensor 30a determines that an air of a predetermined length (10 mm or 5 mm) has entered the infusion tube 2. An low battery display unit 29 is provided to display the blinking characters “battery” when the voltage of the built-in battery is low. An abnormal flow rate display unit 25 is provided to display an abnormal flow rate. All previous displays are provided as alarm display units surrounded by the same printed frame. More particularly, when the door switch 63 (see
As described above, the operation switch panel as a user interface is designed so that the user can set and confirm the infusion conditions safely and reliably and before starting a infusion. A door base 4a partially shown by a broken line in the lower left part of the drawings is made of aluminum die casting or rigid resin, and has a key surface formed between the side surface and the front surface.
Claims
1. A infusion device comprising:
- a setting unit for setting a dose and a infusion flow rate, or the like; and
- a display unit for displaying said dose and said infusion flow rate, or the like,
- wherein when said infusion flow rate (mL/h) is input in said setting unit, the flow rate is increased or decreased step by step in synchronization with a buzzer sound for each press of a 100-digit key.
2. A infusion device comprising:
- a setting unit for setting a dose and a infusion flow rate, or the like; and
- a display unit for displaying said dose and said infusion flow rate, or the like,
- wherein lengths thresholds of detected air is classified into two stages so that either one can be selected.
3. A infusion device comprising in a door:
- a setting unit for setting a dose and a infusion flow rate, or the like; and
- a display unit for displaying said dose and said infusion flow rate, or the like,
- wherein setting input in said setting unit is being prohibited when said door is opened and/or during a temporary stop.
4. A infusion device comprising in a door:
- a setting unit for setting a dose and a infusion flow rate, or the like; and
- a display unit for displaying said dose and said infusion flow rate, or the like,
- wherein setting input in said setting unit is being prohibited when said door is opened and/or during a start of a infusion.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 21, 2006
Publication Date: Jun 29, 2006
Applicant: TERUMO KABUSHIKI KAISHA (Tokyo)
Inventor: Akio Kutsuzawa (Fujinomiya-shi)
Application Number: 11/357,105
International Classification: F04B 43/08 (20060101);